Joshua A. Hawks-Ladds

Joshua A. Hawks-Ladds serves as outside general counsel to numerous companies nationwide.  He is a consummate counselor and commercial lawyer, as well as a litigator.  Clients rely on Josh for his keen business acumen, as well as his extensive litigation skills.  He regularly guides clients through their business, labor, employment, and governmental legal concerns.  Clients call on him for his trusted advice to help them solve their most complex legal problems. Josh serves as co-chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment Law and Employee Benefits Department. 

Josh has tried cases in state and federal courts, argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate courts and the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and litigates extensively before administrative tribunals.  He has appeared pro hac vice in several courts nationwide.  He does a considerable amount of work in the automotive industry, representing auto dealers for consumer complaints, employment issues and other business matters. 

Josh has received the highest ranking, Band 1, from Chambers and Partners in the field of Labor and Employment.  For more than a decade he has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, where clients report that Josh is “dedicated, detailed, thorough, and willing to listen. He is a true professional."  Josh “is a very direct and forthright attorney. His advice is both pragmatic and to the point.”  He “is an excellent employment practices lawyer with outstanding business sense as well as incredible eye for detail. He is an accomplished litigator. (Josh) knows the law. He is easily accessible and accommodative."  “(We) trust Josh Hawks-Ladds completely. He has been there when we needed him providing his expertise in a timely fashion. He is highly interactive, listens to what you say, and takes care of business effectively."

In addition, Josh has been listed by Thomson Reuters as a New England Super Lawyer for over a decade.  He was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a highly selective honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers who are selected based upon their superior litigation and ethical reputations. Josh was selected to Benchmark Litigation’s roster of employment lawyers. 

Josh frequently lectures and consults on trial practice, business disputes, labor and employment law and government law issues.  He also regularly negotiates collective bargaining agreements, employment agreements, and severance and compensation packages involving executives of some of the largest U.S. and international companies.  He is cited as an authority in Covenants Not to Compete: A State by State Survey, 2005 Supplement. 

An American Arbitration Association trained arbitrator, Josh serves on the AAA’s National Roster of Neutral Arbitrators for employment disputes.  He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator for the Connecticut Bar Association’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer Dispute Resolution and The Resolution of Legal Fee Disputes programs.  Additionally, Josh is a FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) Dispute Resolution Arbitrator, having qualified through the FINRA National Arbitration and Mediation Committee.

Office

Professional Affiliations

Connecticut Bar Association - mediator and arbitrator, Legal Fee Resolution Board; past chair, Executive Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section; former chair, Common Law and Statutory Claims Committee; named to CBA's "Distinguished Volunteers Roster" for 2003

Hartford County Bar Association - founder and former chair, Labor and Employment Law Committee

New York Bar Association- Labor and Employment Law Section

Massachusetts Bar Association - Labor and Employment Law Section; Civil Litigation Section

Rhode Island Bar Association - Labor and Employment Law Section

Manchester Bar Association

Connecticut Bar Foundation - James W. Cooper Fellow

American Bar Foundation - Fellow

Federal Bar Council

Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Courts - Bencher

Community Involvement

Justice of the Peace - 2010-2020

March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Connecticut Chapter - former state-wide board of directors chair, former board member

Bolton Lakes Regional Water Pollution Control Authority - former alternate member

Community Health Charities of Connecticut - former member, board of directors

Society for Human Resources Management - member

Town of Bolton Board of Selectmen (2005-2008) - former member

UConn Club - board of directors

University of Connecticut Mock Trial Society Team - coach 2018-2021

Honors & Recognitions

AV Peer Review Rating by Martindale Hubbell

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of litigation - labor and employment and labor law - management since 2011

Listed in Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers to Businesses in Labor and Employment

Listed as a "Top Lawyer" in Hartford Magazine in the areas of employment/labor and litigation, April 2010; July 2012

Selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers since 2006 in the areas of employment and labor.  Also selected in the areas of general litigation and business litigation - 2006-2020

Recognized among the top Connecticut litigation attorneys in Benchmark Litigation - The Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys; listed as a "Litigation Star" and a "Labor and Employment Star"

Hartford Business Journal's 2003 "40 Under Forty" Award - recipient;  recognized him as one of Greater Hartford's top "young leaders"

2002 Distinguished Advocate for the Arts Award from the State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts - recipient 

• Attorney Hawks-Ladds and his colleague Richard Robinson represented a national nuclear remediation company through the settlement of a multimillion dollar contract claim in the United State District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Attorney Hawks-Ladds appeared pro hac vice for our client in the case.

• In 2021 and 2022 Attorney Hawks-Ladds served as co-lead counsel defending ten class actions (or putative class actions) filed against restaurants for allegedly failing to pay proper wages to the restaurants’ service workers.  Attorney Hawks-Ladds served as Lead Trial Counsel and managed the litigation strategies for these matters. Attorney Hawks-Ladds has extensive experience representing restaurants in wage disputes at the department of labor level and in court.

• Attorney Hawks-Ladds represented a client for a debarment hearing in which the New York State Department of Transportation threatened to bar the client from being awarded $20,000,000 in annual state construction contracts based on purported violations of state and federal disadvantaged business regulations. Attorney Hawks-Ladds successfully briefed and argued that the NYSDOT must maintain the client’s certification as a responsible contractor, which it did. 
• Attorney Hawks-Ladds litigated and won an injunction action in which a minority shareholder sought to have the Massachusetts Superior Court order the dissolution of a closely held corporation, install a receiver and reinstate the shareholder as an employee of the company. The motion for injunction was denied in favor of our client.
• Attorney Hawks-Ladds litigated a preliminary injunction action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York involving a former employee of a large hedge fund's alleged violation of his noncompetition agreement and state and federal trade secrets law.
• Attorney Hawks-Ladds successfully defended a declaratory judgment action in the New York Supreme Court involving a former employee of a large hedge fund's attempt to prevent the enforcement of a noncompetition agreement through the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order. The Supreme Court denied the plaintiff's application.
• Argued a case of first impression before the State of Connecticut Appellate Court involving the advice of counsel as a defense to a slander of title lawsuit.
• Represented an international plastics brokerage company in Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia relating to two former employees' alleged theft of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duties and breaches of confidentiality agreements.
• Litigated a Quiet Title action on behalf of a State of Connecticut agency at the Appellate Court after successfully securing a permanent injunction in the Superior Court.
• Successfully litigated a restrictive covenant case in Superior Court receiving an injunction against our client’s former employee for violating his agreement not to solicit customers and accounts.
• Won a Second Circuit Court of Appeals appeal involving a Connecticut real estate agency involving a franchise arbitration matter, after having prevailed with the confirmation of the arbitration award in the U.S. District Court. Attorney Hawks-Ladds argued the appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Won a Connecticut Appellate Court case after winning a summary process trial involving a complex low to moderate housing dispute.
• Negotiated a long term retention agreement for the President and Chief Executive Officer of a Connecticut bank.
• Successfully completed an eight day trial involving claims of trade name dilution and unfair competition under the Lanham Act, Connecticut's Trademark Act and common law resulting in a favorable judgment for our client.
• Successfully negotiated a $1.3 million partnership dispute involving one of the largest accounting firms in the U.S.
• Served as an expert witness in a disability discrimination lawsuit in which a national security company was sued for negligent hiring of an allegedly disabled employee who caused a motor vehicle accident.
• Completed two Freedom of Information Commission actions both resulting in favorable results for our client, a Connecticut municipality.  The first involved the disclosure of Police Department records.  The second involved the disclosure of a town employee's personnel, disciplinary and medical records.
• Litigated a FINRA arbitration matter at FINRA in New York City involving one of the world's largest financial institutions and its former financial advisor.
• Argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court a case of first impression involving the Connecticut fair housing laws.  The case involved the defense of the firm's clients, a housing authority and a property management company, in a discrimination action in which our clients successfully precluded the complainant from intervening in a Superior Court lawsuit.  The Supreme Court must decide whether the complainant has a right to intervene when the statute is silent on that right.
• Won a motion to compel arbitration in which the superior court found that the State of Connecticut Sales Representative Commission Statute is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. 
• Briefed, argued and received a decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court on a matter of first impression relating to the State of Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Act.  The legal issues involved whether a quasi-state agency is immune from an award of sanctions and legal fees levied against it by the workers’ compensation commission due to the agency’s delay in processing a workers’ compensation claim.
• Successfully defended a workers' compensation claim in which the client received a formal hearing award that held that a truck driver was an independent contractor and not an employee under Connecticut law.
• The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court decision and dismissed a claim against our clients, a municipality and its officers.  The case involves significant issues involving a municipal police officer's right to free speech under the First Amendment.  Attorney Hawks-Ladds briefed the case to the District Court and to the Court of Appeals.
• Prevailed before the Appellate Court which affirmed a Superior Court trial court decision denying a writ of mandamus filed against a Connecticut Probate Court judge.
• Received a superior court judgment confirming an arbitration award denying a union's Application to Vacate an Arbitration Award.  The arbitration award arose out of a multi-day arbitration, litigated by Attorney Joshua A. Hawks-Ladds, in which the panel determined that a labor arbitration was not arbitrable due to the union’s failure to follow the contractual grievance procedures.  The matter is currently on appeal before the Connecticut Appellate Court. 
• After a five day arbitration, won a labor arbitration before the Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration for a municipal police department.
• Argued successfully before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a federal civil rights lawsuit resulting in a denial of a motion on a matter on appeal.
• Argued a case of first impression in front of the Connecticut Appellate court involving the Connecticut Fair Housing Act. Attorney Hawks-Ladds had successfully prevented a tenant from intervening in a Superior Court housing discrimination case against his clients; the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the tenant appealed the denial of her right to intervene.
• After a three week trial, Attorney Hawks-Ladds received a Superior Court judgment for our client in a $5,000,000 foreclosure and defense of fraud and civil rights action. The Court granted our client all requested relief and rejected all of the defendants' claims.
• Litigated a case of first impression on a First Amendment free speech issue before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Successfully defended a State of Connecticut Authority in a federal court civil rights lawsuit, resulting in a dismissal of the claim.
• Argued a case of first impression before the Connecticut Supreme Court involving Connecticut's Historic District Commission law.
• After a vigorously contested arbitration, received an Arbitration Award in favor of a municipality, upholding the town's Police Commission's discipline of a police officer for publishing a libelous, anonymous letter that disrupted the town's police department.
• Successfully litigated a Permanent Injunction lawsuit on behalf of an employer in which the court ordered equitable relief in the form of an extension of a nonsolicitation covenant during the period of the employee's breach.
• Won a directed verdict, after a jury trial, defending a company from its former employee’s claim of Workers’ Compensation discrimination.

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